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University of Illinois Athletics

Garrett Acton
4
Winner Illinois ILL 5-3
2
Oklahoma State OSU 7-4
Winner
Illinois ILL
5-3
4
Final
2
Oklahoma State OSU
7-4
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Illinois ILL 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 4 12 0
Oklahoma State OSU 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 9 1

W: Kirschsieper, Cole (2-0) L: Campbell (0-2) S: Acton, Garrett (4)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Illini Get Another Ranked Win, Beat No. 23 Oklahoma State

FRISCO, Texas — The Illinois baseball team beat a ranked team for the second consecutive day at the Frisco Classic with a 4-2 win over No. 23 Oklahoma State. The Illini topped No. 13 Texas A&M on Friday, 1-0, and go for the weekend sweep on Sunday against No. 1 UCLA. 

"This was the best offensive day we've had," said head coach Dan Hartleb. "I think we've made great strides and I'm really happy with how we've played."

Illinois (5-3) won its fourth straight game by pounding a season-high 12 hits and scoring single tallies in four different innings. Six Illini had multiple hits, including a triple and home run from Branden Comia. Comia was joined by Taylor Jackson, Kellen Sarver, Alex Steinbach, Jacob Campbell, and Danny Doligale with two hits against Oklahoma State. 

"It shows we can hang with anyone in the country," said Comia, the offensive standout of the weekend so far. Comia also had Friday's game-wining hit in the eighth. 

Cole Kirschsieper (2-0) was the winning pitcher in a relief effort, going 3 2/3 innings and allowing only one run on four hits. He got Illinois to the ninth, after Ty Rybarczyk allowed one run in the first 4 2/3 innings, then Garrett Acton finished off his second save in as many days. Acton (4) needed only nine pitches to get the final two outs. 

Oklahoma State (7-4) got a leadoff homer in the first inning from Houston Morrill then was blanked until the ninth. The Illini tied the game on Campbell's RBI in the second and extended the lead on another Campbell RBI single in the sixth, followed by an RBI double off the wall by Kellen Sarver in the seventh. 

Illinois takes on No. 1 UCLA with Aidan Maldonado getting the Sunday start. It will be Illinois' first game against a No. 1 ranked opponent since 2009.

Highlights

Notes

• Illinois is 6-2 in its last eight games against ranked teams dating back to last season.
• Illinois has won three of its last four games against Oklahoma State, including winning two of three against the No. 10 Cowboys in 2015. 
• Illinois has five wins and five saves (Acton 4, Maldonado 1). 
• Branden Comia is on a five-game hitting streak and a career-long 13-game reached base streak. 
• Taylor Jackson has hit safely in all eight games this season. 
• Taylor Jackson has reached safely 47.4% of the time when leading off an inning (9-19), including 2-5 vs. Oklahoma State. 
• Alex Steinbach is on a five-game hitting streak.
• Frisco Classic opponents' rankings...
     » Texas A&M - #13 (NCBWA), #15 (Collegiate Baseball), #18 (D1Baseball), #18 (Perfect Game)
     » Oklahoma State - #23 (Baseball America), #24 (Perfect Game), #28 (NCBWA), #28 (Collegiate Baseball)
     » UCLA - #1 (Collegiate Baseball), #7 (NCBWA), #7 (Perfect Game), #10 (D1Baseball), #11 (Baseball America)
• Illinois is 2-0 when dogs visit the dugout. The Frisco RoughRiders' Team Dog & Chief Morale Officer, Brooks, hung out in the Illini dugout pregame. 

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